First Taste
by perplexing platypus
Summary: Moaning Myrtle wasn't the only person who fell victim to Riddle's wrath during his years at Hogwarts. Follow Riddle through his first year at school and see how it helped shape the all powerful wizard he became.
1. The Hogwart's Express

**So, what really happened while Voldemort was at school? He, of course, opened the Chamber of Secrets and learned all about Horcruxes, but what else? Here is the story of Riddle's school years and what really happened there that helped to shape greatest feared wizard of all time. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the Harry Potter characters in this story. They all belong to JK Rowling.**

_It was utter nonsense. There was no way on Earth that there could be a train station at Platform 9 3/4. Of course, Riddle wouldn't have thought that there was any way on Earth that he was a wizard either. He had always known that he wasn't like the other children at the orphanage. Whenever he was angry, he had never yet failed to make horrible things happen to those who where responsible for his anger. During one instance, the biggest bully at the orphanage decided that he was going to steal the little box of trinkets Riddle had hidden in his wardrobe. Of course, Riddle had stolen them from the other boys but, according to him, as long as you take it without notice and keep it safe, then it's rightfully yours. Anyway, Riddle had walked in just as the bully was leaving, and all of a sudden, the boy's hair caught on fire. Riddle had gotten beat with the ruler more than usual for that one, even though there was no way he could have stopped it from happening. These things just happened, and he had never known why. Until, of course, he had met a professor from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a few weeks before. The professor, Dumbledore was his name if he remembered correctly, had explained to him that he was a wizard and that after going to Hogwarts he would be able to control these tempers. Of course, he would never be able to even get to school if he couldn't find this platform in time……_

**The Hogwarts Express**

Tom Riddle just stood there, shifting his gaze between both platforms nine and ten, hoping some magical doorway would appear. If he didn't find the platform soon, he was going to miss his one chance to leave behind his horrible life. Anyone passing by would have thought he was lost, which was the honest truth. He knew that the platform had to be around here somewhere, but where? It was ten fifty and Dumbledore had told him the train left at exactly eleven. If he didn't find the train soon, he was dead meat.

"Beth, hurry up or your going to make us miss the train!" yelled a boy of about sixteen. He was pushing a trolley containing many books and a large brown owl, waiting for his younger sister to quench her thirst at the drinking fountain to his left.

"Well, if you hadn't taken a shower at home at the last minute and then made us run all the way through the train station, I wouldn't be so thirsty!" Beth replied. "So, Galeon which way is it to Platform 9 3/4?"

Riddle looked around and spotted the girl who was just a few feet away from him. She looked about his age, had long brown hair tied up into a pony tail, and bright green eyes. If he had heard correctly, this girl was looking for platform 9 3/4 too, and it seemed as if her brother already knew where it was.

"Oh, just follow me. See that wall over there?" Galeon asked as he pointed to the space between the two platforms Riddle had been previously examining. "To get to the train you just simply walk through that wall." Seeing the expression on his sister's face he added, "But don't worry, it doesn't hurt. Here, we'll go together."

Riddle watched as they both casually walked to the wall between platforms nine and ten. Expecting them to crash, Riddle winced as their trolleys made contact with the wall. When no crash reached his ears he quickly opened his eyes. It seemed as though the young girl and her brother had dissapeared, for there was no sign of an overturned trolley or splattered ink. There was just the brick wall, beckoning him forward. Running low on time, Riddle hoped for the best and carefully made his way towards the wall. When he was only a short distance away from it, he glanced around to make sure no one was staring at him, then closed his eyes, and walked straight into the barrier.

A few moments later, he heard the whistle of a train and tons of indistinct chatter permeating the room. He slowly opened his eyes and as he did, he saw the strangest sight he had ever witnessed. He was in a train station full of people dressed in many different colored robes, each helping a child onto the train. Some were saying their last goodbyes and others seemed to be giving last minute warnings to their troublesome kids. Although he had seen many wizards on his trip to Diagon Alley, he still wasn't entirely used to the sight of hundreds of them all gathered together.

As he began to walk hesitantly towards the train, a few boys ran straight into him, knocking him down and splattering all the contents of his trolley across the station's floor.

"Sorry man." the taller of the two boys said.

"Yeah, we were really aiming to knock down the girl in front of you. She is such a goody-two-shoes, that Beth Midler." The shorter boy declared. Although shorter, it seemed that this boy was really the leader of the two. "My names Avery, by the way, Harold Avery, and this is Coftan Lestrange."

"I'm Tom, Tom Riddle." Riddle replied.

"You new to the wizarding world?" Avery asked.

"Yes." Riddle hissed, aggravated by the fact that he now had to pick up all of his belongings off of the station floor.

"Oh, my parents are both wizards, so I know all about Hogwarts already. My whole family is pureblood." he explained with a smirk on his face. "Mrs. Midler over there is only half-blood, and our fathers work together at the Ministry of Magic. Whenever her father comes over for dinner, he always boasts at how gifted she is at magic. Well, we'll see who's really better this year."

"So, wait…" Lestrange said as he helped lift Riddle's trolley into their compartment, "you must be a mudblood then, if your new to this world."

"I don't know what I am." Riddle confessed. He had read about pureblood families and mudbloods while waiting in line at the bookstore in Diagon Alley. "My parents both died when I was young and left me to grow up in a stinky old orphanage, surrounded by muggles. I think…….well, I just don't know, but I'm sure at least one of them must have been a wizard."

Riddle was about to confess that he was almost positively sure that his father must have been a wizard. If his mother was, then she could have saved herself from dying after he was born. It couldn't be that difficult to keep yourself from dying when you're a witch or wizard. He was not the type of kid to look for sympathy,though, or express his innermost fears and emotions. If he had learned anything at the orphanage, it was to trust no one but yourself. He was not going to spill out his life to these two strangers. Right then he just wanted to get filled in on everything he could about his new life at Hogwarts and the wizarding world. After all, it was a long train ride to Hogwarts and he knew, with the right questions and the proper coaxing, he could get these two boys to tell him anything.


	2. To the Dungeons

**So… I was really excited to keep on going with this story and I hope you are enjoying it so far. (Even though there's only been one chapter.) **

**P.S. Thank you King of Cheese for finding the grammar mistakes from chapter one for me!**

**Disclaimer: I really do not own any of the characters in this story. They really do belong to JK Rowling.**

**To the Dungeons**

After what seemed like hours of anticipation, the train finally arrived at Hogwarts. The castle was unlike anything Riddle had ever seen in his entire lifetime. He had never set eyes upon something so powerful, yet majestic in appearance. He wasn't the only one astonished by it's beauty and intrigue, though. As he exited the train, he saw many first-years staring at the castle with expressions of both awe and fear.

"First-years over here, please. Come on, get in a group over here first-years!" yelled a woman, trying to be heard over the chatter and hustle of the students.

"C'mon Riddle, stop staring and let's go," Avery said. "I think first-years get to ride the boats across the lake to the school."

The two boys headed towards the group of first-years and then down towards the lake to ride the boats. Finally, before reaching the lake, the woman leading them turned around to address the students. She was actually a rather good-looking lady for her age. She had bright red hair pulled back in a bun, and wore dark blue robes that brought out the color of her piercing blue eyes. She only looked like she was in her late twenties or early thirties.

"Good evening first-years, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She recited, as if she had said this speech too many times before. "My name is Corilana Duntree, and I am the gamekeeper here at Hogwarts. My house is just outside the school, right on the edge of the Forbidden Forest if you ever need me or just want to talk. Now, we will be heading towards the castle on these boats in front of you so please get in groups of no more than four." After everyone had eagerly found a group she proceeded to say, "Now I want to warn you that a giant squid does live in the waters of the lake, so I would strongly advise you not to fall in or rock the boat. Also, if I see or hear that you pushed or caused a fellow classmate to fall into the lake, I promise you that you will be on the train home before you can say hippogriff."

"Miss Duntree," a scrawny, blonde haired boy asked, "I heard that the squid once pulled a kid down beneath the lake and he was never heard from again. Is that really true?" The effect of the boy's question was immediate. Suddenly, everyone seemed a lot less anxious to get to school and some kids even started backing away from the lake, hoping if the squid came out, it would take those in front of them as its first prey.

Miss Duntree just laughed and replied, "No, Mr.……"

"Um, Pirter, Roger Pirter," the boy replied.

"Well, Mr. Pirter, I don't know what kind of rumors the older students have been spreading around, but don't worry, if the giant squid had ever killed someone, do you actually think that we would let you ride across the lake, right above it?" Miss Duntree questioned.

"No," Roger agreed quietly.

"Exactly." she said. "Here's a word to the wise for all of you: don't believe a word the older students say until you've either seen it with your own eyes or confirmed it with a teacher, because most of them find incredible joy in frightening first years with scary stories and rumors that are out of this world. Anyways, enough of that, if we don't get going soon we're going to be late. Ok, will every group please find a boat?

Riddle walked down to the lake and got into a boat with Avery and Lestrange. He noticed that there were no oars to row with and wondered how they were expected to even get to the castle.

"Ok, is everyone in a boat now? I would hate to leave someone behind." Miss Duntree said. "Ok, if your positive, then FORWARD!!" she cried, and the boats started to glide towards the school.

It was a beautiful night and the lake was so clear you could see the reflections of the stars in the water. Riddle did not care, though, for he was too busy wondering how they enchanted the boats to move on their own across the water. He yearned to know everything. He couldn't wait to start his education and someday, be able to enchant things to do his bidding. As he pondered, the boats all of a sudden came to a halt, and he heard the footsteps of his classmates walking up to the castle doors. He exited the boat and tried to hurry to get a spot in the front of the crowd. Finally, after much pushing and shoving, the first-years came to a stop in front of the castle doors. The excitement of the year and journey they were about to begin was starting to build up inside each of them and they couldn't wait to get started.

"Everyone here? Good," said Miss Duntree. Then she knocked on the castle doors three times and stood back as they opened to reveal a fairly old man with half-moon spectacles and an extremely long beard.

"Good evening students!" exclaimed the man as he ushered them forward into the school.

"I pray that your journey was splendid and that most of you didn't stuff your faces with food from the trolley, because I hear tonight's meal is going to be fabulous." The man led the first years through the entrance hall and toward two massive doors before turning to address them again. "Before all of you enter into the Great Hall," he said, wiping his glasses on his long, dark robes, "I have the joy of telling you your most favorite thing in the world to hear. Simply, the rules of this school. Now in my lifetime, which has been a very long one indeed, I have yet to meet someone who loves, and always follows, may I add, the rules set down by their authority." The man's twinkling eyes seemed to search the crowd, looking for the particular students in which his speech was regarding. "Nevertheless," he went on, "no society can fully function without it's own set of rules, so I must tell them to you. I can only hope that you will hear them and take them to heart so this year can be one of our most productive years so far. Before I begin, though, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, but more plainly known as, Professor Dumbledore. I will be you Transfiguration teacher this year and I hope that I will get the pleasure of knowing each and every one of you by the end of this year."

Riddle remembered Professor Dumbledore very well from their last encounter. Dumbledore had showed up unexpectedly one day to the orphanage where Riddle lived and had explained to him that he was truly a wizard. It was not a memory Riddle could easily forget. He waited and listened intently as Dumbledore explained the rules to the students. Most of them were straight and simple, such as don't wander into the Forbidden Forest and that first-years were not allowed to own a broomstick. Finally, when Dumbledore was done, he surveyed the students one last time and opened the doors that led into the Great Hall.

Of all of the castle that Riddle had seen so far, nothing was quite as extraordinary as the Great Hall. There were four massive tables that seated hundreds of older students from the various houses and one table at the very front where the many Hogwarts professors sat, anxious for the sorting to end, and the meal to begin.

Riddle glanced at the four tables and his gaze immediately turned to the table at his far left. The students sitting there seemed different than all the others; somehow more keen and surreptitious. _Slytherins_, he thought to himself. After hearing Avery drawl on about his in-depth analysis of each house, Slytherin was the one that captured his attention the most. He was captivated by its background and the students placed into it. He yearned to be placed in Slytherin; among his own people.

Dumbledore led the first-years to the front of the hall, were a hat laid on a stool in front of them. There was a great amount of anxiety in the huddled crowd of first-years as they gazed at the hat. Was this how they were to be placed into their houses? By an ancient, wizard's hat?

"This is the sorting hat," Dumbledore started, "It has been kept throughout the years in means of simply sorting our new students. Now, each and every one of you will have to place this on your head and it will decide which house you fit best. Simple, right?" Dumbledore said with a wide grin. Suddenly, the hat rose off the stool and it seemed to form a shape of a mouth right above its rim. It began,

_"Of all the hats you'll ever find,_

_I doubt you'll ever see,_

_A hat quite so refined_

_As the sorting hat can be._

_For many years I've sorted through_

_Both the gifted and the small._

_I never complain and always perform_

_My best for you and all._

_Now place me gently on your head_

_And I will easily see,_

_What thoughts lay hidden in your mind_

_And where you deserve to be._

_You may be placed in Gryffindor,_

_Where honor and chivalry lie;_

_Where honesty and bravery are in full_

_And friendships never die._

_Or maybe in kind Hufflepuff,_

_Where all are loyal and true_

_And always there to lend a hand_

_Both to me and also you._

_Perhaps in wise Ravenclaw,_

_You'll find yourself to be;_

_With a sharp mind and keen wit,_

_Where learning is mighty._

_And those of you in Slytherin,_

_Where mystery and cunning are seen;_

_Students have great talent_

_And their senses are always keen._

_Just put me on! Don't be alarmed!_

_It won't take but a minute_

_Then you'll know where you belong_

_And start your journey in it."_

When the sorting hat had finished it's last line, the whole hall rang with a huge burst of applause. As it started to die down, Dumbledore picked up the hat and called out the name, "Abbote, Dani." And so the sorting process began. A young girl, by then name of Karie Bishop, was placed in Ravenclaw, and the annoying, scrawny, Roger Pirter was sorted into Hufflepuff. Avery and Lestrange both ended up in Slytherin.

"Riddle, Tom." Dumbledore announced as the applause from the Gryffindor table died down after welcoming Terry Restle into their house.

Riddle stepped forward. He was one of the few kids left to be sorted. He had just seen almost over fifty kids get sorted and yet he could feel the butterflies in his stomach. Where would the hat place him? As he sat down, Dumbledore placed the hat on his head with a curious look on his face. Before Riddle could decipher what the look could have meant, the hat shouted out "**SLYTHERIN!**"

Without thinking, Riddle crossed to the far side of the hall, towards the Slytherin table. He was greeted with many pats on the back and "congratulations", which he acknowledged and then pushed to the back of his mind as Dumbledore continued to call off the names of the remaining students.

When the sorting was finished, all went quiet as Dumbledore took his seat next to a very round man with a huge mustache, and the headmaster stood up.

"Welcome students," he began, "to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am your headmaster, Armando Dippet. Now, I have a few announcements to make before we devour our delicious meal tonight. To all first-year students, and those few others who have trouble following rules, I'd like to remind you that you are strictly forbidden to enter the dark forest without the consent of a teacher or myself. Also, please try to refrain from using magic outside of the classrooms unless needed or instructed to do." All of the while, the headmaster seemed to be aiming his words to only a select group of students, most of which appeared to be at Riddle's table. "Now, if we all keep these main two things in mind, I'm sure this year will prove to be very successful. Thank you." Right as the headmaster sat down, multitudes of various meals appeared in front of the students.

Riddle had only ever seen meals this delicious on the small TV at the orphanage and in the windows of the neighbors houses at Christmas. He looked around, deciding which food to eat first, the turkey, or the potatoes. There was a lot of talk at the table, which Riddle listened to intently, hoping to learn as much as he could about his peers and the school. By the end of the feast, he had learned the spell to turn a tree branch into a frog, that many of the Slytherins were purebloods, that Professor Binns was the most boring person on the planet, and that Quidditch was some type of sport played on brooms. It was an okay start.

Just as Riddle reached for a second helping of pudding, it disappeared. Every student looked up to the head table, waiting for their cue to leave. Then, as the headmaster rose, there was a huge scraping sound of all the various students leaving their benches, and the hall was suddenly a great mass of children trying to exit back to their common rooms.

"Slytherin first years over here!" yelled a scrawny, black-haired boy. "Hurry up and don't dawdle! Now, my name is Derek, if you even care, and I'm a prefect, which means you have to show me some respect," he said with an slight grin. "Now, I'm about to lead you to our common room so pay attention because after tonight, you're all on your own." He led the first-years out of the Great Hall and eventually down many flights of steps. They were led farther and farther down, until at last, they came to a stop. The Slytherin's common room was in the damp dungeons, beneath the very lake they had just traveled across. They were led through a complex labyrinth of passages and finally stopped in the middle of a corridor that was barely visible in the darkness.

"Salazar," Derek said to a bare wall in front of him. At once, the wall slid open to reveal a cozy room. The green lamps that hang from the walls gave it a mysterious, yet appropriate hue. The fire in the mantelpiece was barely flickering, which Derek fixed with a flick of his wand. As the room grew brighter from the flames, Riddle was able to make out many high-backed chairs and tables sorted around the long room.

"Welcome to the Slytherin common room," Derek proclaimed just as the older students began to file into the room from dinner. "I hope you remembered how to get here, because I'm not one of those prefects who wanders the corridors for lost students, and I really don't care to." And with that, he turned to sit with his friends at a table at the far end of the room, leaving the first-years huddled in a group by the fire. Slowly, but surely, the room started emptying as students went to bed. By midnight, only Riddle, Avery, and Lestrange were left sitting, staring into the dying flames. Riddle never slept much, and his anticipation to start his learning kept him even more awake. It would be a long night, but he knew that tomorrow, when it came, would be well worth it.


End file.
